Abstract:

This work is related to the compulsory subject 'Product Presentation', taught in the Degree in Industrial Design and Product Development at the Universitat Jaume I of Castellón, and outlines the methodologies and results of an educational improvement project successfully implemented in the past academic year. This project aimed to improve the student’s skills by strengthening the teaching methodology through seminars and activities, involving external professionals and the use of tools based on new technologies of information and communication.
Among the objectives of the improvement project we considered that the students should be able to analyze the formal aspects of the products that have direct impact on their relationship with the user, learn to visualize and express graphically the role of the packages or their parts, practice ergonomic research methodologies and be trained to conduct a critical analysis. All these objectives are intended to develop the professional skills of students, since they must work in a project that should be presented at the end of the course as professional as possible, by having to implement their industrial production.
The project conducted some activities using the Moodle-based ‘Virtual Classroom’ platform. Among these activities was learning Prezi software for project presentations, a seminar on a photo editing software tool and three lectures given by renowned professionals in the fields of design, photography and video editing. In this way, due to the work of visiting professionals we were able to help students to become aware about the reality of their profession and their socio-economic environment, perceiving the whole of the proposed exercises differently than mere academic proposals.

Keywords:

Blended Learning, Industrial Design, packaging, product presentation.